74 Wheels for 74 Years!
Here’s one of the things I did to celebrate my 74th birthday:
Plus I did a video (which is sped up for brevity):
As you can see, I did one wheel for every year of my age! Also known as a bridge or backbend, this is basically an upside-down push-up. (Note: I did them in 6 sets of 10 and one last one of 15, and rested a couple minutes in between each set.) I have been doing this yearly challenge ever since my early 60s. My daughters and I look forward to it every year.
I learned this tip from B.K.S. Iyengar, the inspirational and life-giving yoga teacher, who lived until age 95 in full health and vigor, practicing and teaching until his death in 2014. In fact, he did 95 wheels on his last birthday. It is one of his “Ten Tips for a Long and Healthy Life” that I have included in my book A Life Yet to Live. LINK
Here is the full list of Iyengar’s tips:
Breathe as if you are divine.
Health is the gateway to spiritual well-being.
Go inward.
Connect to something greater than yourself.
Strive for truth.
Embrace change.
Be willing to evolve.
Be patient with your practice.
On your birthday do as many backbends as you are years old.
Rest five minutes for every thirty minutes of practice.
The dirty little secret of this “one-day event” is that I begin preparing for it a few months in advance, building up strength, resilience, and body memory for the actual day. And while I do these wheels all year long as part of my health practice, I usually only do one or two in any yoga session. I start the harder work at least three or four months before my birthday, increasing the repetitions to 10 or 20 times and gradually more. In my final practice, two weeks before my birthday, I did 65 wheels.
Health Goals and the Surprising Silver Lining
I have found that setting goals and challenges like this is a helpful way to keep me motivated and, without resorting to saying, “I’m just getting old,” to push myself through fear and any self-imposed limits. Once I engage in a challenge and start preparing for it, without judging myself, the actual event becomes less important than the work I do in preparation. This is where all the real effort happens: the training. My ski adventure (LINK) a couple of months ago is a good example. Once I got in the groove, my skiing was enjoyable and injury-free, having prepared myself for several months before the trip.
My next challenge is a 30-mile charity hike in Oxfordshire at the end of April. (I may do all of it or half of it, depending on the weather and how I feel that day.) What’s important is that I will continually increase my walking mileage between now and then. Again, the actual event ends up being less important than the work I do to prepare for it. In other words, the journey (the training) becomes more important than the destination (achieving the challenge or goal).
Are there any challenges or goals in your life that would help motivate you to stay active and healthy longer? Want to climb that mountain, or keep up with your children or grandchildren? Start practicing for your big goal now and enjoy the silver lining.
